Past, Present, Future Full title inside
by Maya Maria
Summary: A grateful people adopt the ways of their saviors, so that they can’t forget. A daughter of their ways befriends a daughter of a native. The ancient past and endangered present come face to face. Can old and new live as one? Or old Hatred cost their life?
1. My Past Your Sleeping Dawn Part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gargoyles. But I do own my original characters.**

**I will try to keep historical information accurate, but I *will* be taking a few …shall we say…artistic liberties with dates and such so the story will flow better. **

_A Shared Past, Our Turbulent Present; and the Unknown Future_

Summary: Ways of their saviors, so that they can't forget A daughter of their ways befriends a daughter of a native man. Can old and new live as one? Or old Hatred cost their life? The ancient past and endangered present come face to face.

Chapter 1: My Past Your Sleeping Dawn Part 1

Northern France, Early Spring, 1789

The early spring breeze softly blew through the town toward the large stone house, a near replica of the Murdoc family's home before they had been forced to France on the outskirts of village of Perle Riviera. No one, not even Sheriff Richard Nicolls-knew what the men, and by association the women and children, had done to be sent here….

"_And _I don't know what the Sheriff was thinking: 'I will NOT allow such traitorous peoples into this town'. Can you believe what those poor dearies went through to get here? The whole mess of pottage; that's whot! Poor Childs. Praise be the Lord, that our men talked him out of chasing them out. And did you just _see _those little 'un when they come off the wagonette?" The farmer's daughter young Easter Teusher prattled to Goodwife Fran Blacken.

"Oh, I know, poor babes. I just wanted to grab them and take them back to my home for a bowl of good soup and a crust of bread, although I'm entirely sure they couldn't eat more than a crumb. They was so _little_. But, I heard de men of the family- they was part of the army that marched against that King of England, don't cha know?" Blacken replied as the two continued their way to the house, intent on making their new neighbors welcome, even if they were disgraced soldiers. The least they could do for the poor dears.

Soon enough, they crested the last hillock, but it seemed the house was entirely deserted. "Why, were did they all go?" Fran exclaimed, "It's not as if people just up and vanish into thin air!" She wandered through the open gate and tread carefully toward the house.

Teusher retorted, "What the dickens are you blathering about now?" She remained at the gate, staring incredulously as her married friend acted half her mature age of 25, peering intently into the glassless window. "Come now, you'd have to be as blind as the Count not to see no one's in there. Let's check around back." They moved around to barn area and were met with a _surprising _sight, to say the least.

There was a circle carved in the dirt and inside the circle, two men wrestling. Not that that in and of itself was surprising. After all, men of Perle Riviera and the surrounding towns frequently sparred during the summer festivals. No, what was surprising was the fact that the men were _shirtless_,_ and_ not only that but both men were extremely fit, even more so than most village men.

"Dè an t-ainm a tha ort?" Both women jumped slightly at being caught staring. Fran and Easter turned slightly and saw a little girl sitting, partially hidden, in the shadow of a strange statue. Neither wife spoke and turned back toward the crowd of women and children now surrounding the wrestlers. After some moments, the little girl looked at them through a wild tangle of hair and whispered softly, "Dè an t-ainm a tha ort?" Neither woman knew _what_ the child was actually saying, but courtesy never hurt. "Hello, little girl." At the sound of Easter's voice, the girl gaped at them for a second before rushing away, probably to hide behind her mother's apron. However, that second was a enough, enough to see that the child didn't have the eyes of a normal person. Hers were a strange blue-purple, a color they had never seen in a person before. _'Her eyes…they looked as if someone took the blue out of a bluebell and mixed it with the red eyes of a demon!_'

Noticing the townswomen, one of men greeted them cheerfully, "Halò, Madainn mhath!" Both women looked at their new neighbor . Taking in the looks on their faces, the man chuckled self-consciously, "I mean…Hello, Good Morning. Please excuse my mistake; surrounded by family as I am, I forget I am not in my birth-country and so I speak my birth-tongue." Easter was the first to shake herself from the sight of the demon-eyed child and the strange tongue both man and child spoke, answering, "And a Hello and Good Morning to you too, sir. We understand and don't hold it against you. Um,…If I may, you were one of the wrestlers, were you not?" Her companion gabbed slightly in the side, camouflaging her actions by shifting the basket in her arms. Easter glared at her slightly, "What I meant was, you are very good for someone your age; you'd probably make my brother a few francs poorer come festival time." Easter laughed good-naturally and soon both companions joined her in laughter; the good-looking wrestler waved them toward the house, "Please join my family in breaking the midmorning bread, my friends."

Soon enough Fran and Easter were sited inside at the oaken table, bowls of stew in front of them. "I believe I was wrong; these children are perfectly fine and healthy." The Goodwife stated with a curt nod of her head, watching the children running around and making housework twice a bother as children do. "It seems my protégé has been neglecting his duties.", a roguish-looking man to a seat beside Easter on the table-length bench, "Don't look so startled, girlies, I mean ye no harm. I just want to know what ye doing here, and don't say being neighborly." Fran sighed, "The town was getting suspicious." The man sat up and gave the young wife his attention, "Suspicious, you say? Why is that? We've did nothing wrong, broken no law!" The elderly gentleman began muttering and shaking his head worriedly. "…That we know of. Tis so much easier to be a soldier in battle than a man in a country he knows not the laws of." Easter quickly assured him, "It's not because you broke a law. It's because you never come into town. Plus, Fran and I were worried about the children; they didn't look hale when we first saw them."

The grandfatherly soldier smiled softly "Thanks, lass. That's a weight off me shoulders, for sure." A mischievous gleam shined in his eye. "Well, if ye are done eating, you can meet the bairns. I warn thee-they may not look like normal children, but don't hold that against them. Sweet things they are." As he spoke he lead them down a corridor and outside to a doorway in the small courtyard. Pushing the door open the women stepped inside what looked like an artificial dome. _'Is this the nursery?' _Fran thought amazed. Bedding was strewn about and at least twenty children, all looking about ten years old, had burrowed deep into the blankets.

"Watch this girlies." The old man chuckled mischievously, breathed deeply, and commanded, "_A-tten-tion!" _All the children quickly scrambled into a rough column in front of the adults. "Everyone, meet Miss Blacken and Goodwife Teusher. Now, I needs to gets to work so behave or twenty laps around the statues, ye hear." With that, the soldier left quickly; and a awkward silence descended as lady and child stared at one another.

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**Fun Facts:**

**Bluebell- Not the ice cream; the flower. It's really pretty and it grows in the northern areas of Europe. **

**Men of that era **_**never **_**went without a shirt in public or when someone could see them, **_**ever**_**. Not even if they went swimming.**

**What The Dickens- the ancient version of 'WTF?' Not a good thing for a women to say, unless you were a tavern girl.**

**Gaelic (Can anybody guess what dialect this is?)**

**Dè an t-ainm a tha ort? -What is your name? **

**Madainn mhath." - Good morning. **

**Halò- Hello. **


	2. My Past Your Sleeping Dawn Part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gargoyles. But I do own my original characters.**

* * *

Summary: A grateful people adopt the ways of their saviors, so that they can't forget. A daughter of their ways befriends a daughter of a native man. Can old and new live as one? Or old Hatred cost their life? The ancient past and endangered present come face to face.

A Shared Past, Our Turbulent Present; and the Unknown Future

Chapter 2 My Past Your Sleeping Dawn Part 2

_Perle Riviera, Middle Spring, 1789_

After that day Fran stopped visiting, but Easter came by as much as she could. One by one the children made themselves known as they began to trust Easter more and more. The girl with amber-colored eyes and brown hair was the 'mother' of the group; and who Easter assumed was her brother had the exact opposite-Amber hair and brown eyes was the 'father'. Neither one had given any indication as to their names and it was a bit disconcerting to see the children calling each other Brother or Sister, but it just showed how much they loved one another. One more disconcerting fact was how Easter could never figure out who married to who for the family seemed to be very touchy, always placing a hand or arm on the shoulder of the person they were talking to. Another was that every day she was there, the young wrestler, who Easter found out was named Joshua and was head of the family, was either training or working nearby. She guessed he liked, maybe even loved her, but was too shy to tell her. Although why would he want her when he could have any of the single women in the whole area, she didn't know.

Sighing, Easter tore her thoughts away from the mysteries of the Murdoc family and to the 'Mystery of the Statues'. Once at the wrestling circle, she slowly made her way to the largest of them and stared. After staring at it awhile, she threw her hands in the air, "Oh! For the love of angels, what the dickens is this thing supposed to be?" She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the impassive stone as if she could scare it into telling her what it was.

"Supposed to be a gargoyle, Big Sister." Hands still on her hips, Easter looked at the 'demon-eyed' child beside her, the same one she and Fran saw the first day they met the Murdoc's. The little girl looked up and shyly pried Easter's hand off her hip, pulling her to a triangular cluster of statues. "Dees three are called the Trio and Grandpa" the name all the children called the old soldier, "said where you can find one the other two ain't far away. There's even a story. It goes- 'Once a time ago, when man and monster live 'gether, the gargoyles protected man, woman, and bairn while they sleeped. But they were seen as bad things and not liked. One night, after they drove away the mean Vikings; a lady said some bad words to the Trio and they got mad and were sent to their room. In the morning, they all were betrayed by the Captain who killed them except the Trio and their doggie 'cause he didn't know they were in their room, and later that night when they went to rescue the humans, the Magnus stonified the Trio, their Grandpa, and their doggie; because he was mad/sad 'cause he thought Princess Kathryn was died. She was alright, though. And after everybody got back to the castle, Goliath, he's like Joshua, said, 'Let me sleep until the castle rises above the clouds.' So Magnus spelled him, too. And today they're still there asleep. The End." The girl gave a nod and looked at Easter, who was amazed to say the least. "My goodness, you mean these things are real! Even if they were, why would they help people who hated them ?" Easter said quickly, frightened.

A laugh rang out over the training area, "No, not these- they are but of stone, though Grandfather swears that the real gargoyles could turn from stone to flesh and back." Both girls looked toward the voice, to see Jacob strolling toward them, a package in hand. "As for your second question milady; it is their way, same as ours–to protect and defend anyone in our territory." Easter would have laughed, if not for Joshua's serious demeanor and face. She couldn't look away; this was a face she hadn't seen before on him- the face of a leader and Easter reminded herself that he was a leader-the leader of his people. She looked up at him through her bangs and saw he couldn't seem to look away either. It gave her a courage she didn't know she possessed. The courage to ask the question she knew must be asked although she didn't know why. "Truly, even if they wished for your blood? Your death?" She asked quietly, suddenly afraid of his person noticed the child gently pry the package from Joshua's unfeeling grip and begin to open it. "Oh! Joshua! This is so pretty! Is it for Big Sister Easter?" Shaken out of her stupor, Easter began to turn to see the object but Joshua stepped in front of her, blocking her view.

"Give me that, you little bugger." Joshua tried in vain to get his little sister and the object he waited so long for. The girl giggled, swiftly dodging Joshua, and held the mystery object up as high as she could in front of Easter, jumping on her heels slightly. Easter gently picked her up and let the ten-year-old place the object in her palm; Easter looked at the it she was amazed! It was a ring, with the words: _mei adamo eternus _carved on the inside."Why…What is this? Joshua? Tell me, what do those words mean?" Easter demanded. Joshua stepped closer and plucked the ring out of her hand. "There goes my plan to court you. But let me do this one thing properly." Joshua slowly got down on one knee and took Easter's hand in both of his. "Easter Teusher, will you consent to being my wife?" Easter looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Oh, Joshua…I…I." Her voice trailed off and silence descended. Joshua stood saying, "It's okay, Easter. I understand if you need some time to think. Really, I understand." Although he said he understood, she knew he didn't. Easter shifted her weight uneasily, "No, I do want to marry you, but what about my father? I doubt he'll allow me to marry a man not born of this country, and I will not elope like one of those disgraceful w…well I just won't!"

The girl, hiding from her brother clutching Easter's pinafore, giggled, "Good thing I asked the pottery-man, already! He said yes!" Both adults looked at her dumbfounded. "You _WHAT!_" None of the three knew who yelled it first but it didn't matter right then. The couple looked at the child now happily dancing around them and then to each other. "It looks like my fears are unfounded then.", Easter stated sheepishly, "I guess I'm yours." Joshua smiled shyly but he couldn't hide the happiness in his voice, "Truly, Easter, till the end of time?" Easter nodded and Joshua swung her up in her arms laughing.

"Can I ask you a question?" the young blue-purple-eyed girl asked. The man and woman nodded still holding each other tight. The girl grabbed a hand in each of hers and mimicked Joshua knelling, "Would you be my Mommy and Daddy?" Easter looked at her husband out of the corner of her eye, "Well, I don't know, should we? After all, she is the one who asked my father's permission." Joshua caught the gleam in his wife's eye, "Of course we should. She needs love and who better to to give it to her than her parents." "Really, honest!" The girl laughed and hugged them both."Come on. Let's go tell everyone." The young leader said. His daughter shouted, "Swing me. Swing me." Taking a hand each, the new parents swung their daughter high into the air. As high as their happiness abounded.

"You never did answer my question from earlier." Easter teased as they at by the banked fire, her husband's head on one shoulder her daughter's on another. "Hmm? Which one? I seem to remember you asking quite a few, love." Joshua nuzzled his face against her neck. Easter sighed contently leaning into her husband's embrace, "Just forget I even asked." A sleepy child's voice replied "Okay, Mommy. I Luvs You." " We Luvs you too, sweetie."

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**Okay, that was the prologue in case you're wondering. The questions are important later, so don't just dismiss them. Now, can anyone tell me how many years it has been so far according to this fic since the Clan became stone. The dates are **_1789_** and **_994_**.**


End file.
